Sam Stenson is

she is water

My name is Sam, I am a poet and lover of the written word, a scent aficionado, a lover of hip-hop, world traveler, Aquarius sun and driven by curiosity. I created she is water as a pseudonym for myself and my artwork in the dawn of instagram, over 10 years ago. Words strewn together on a fridge in poetic verse. I tailored the words and adopted them as my chosen name, the title that would encompass and paraphrase my entirety. She is water, felt like my given name. And so it goes.

I am a photographer creating with art- lovers in mind. I see photography as an opportunity to tell a story, to draw the onlooker near. I make images with intentional intimacy. This is a resting place for those who cherish photography with a balance of the candid and carefully created.

I have a wide variety of creative offerings, and no matter which package best suits your needs, I am here to hold you the entire length of the process that will be steeped in co-creation, laughter, and many many rolls of film. Thank you for being here.

things to eat

while grieving

a cookbook

Presale July 16, 2025

This project was about creating something personal without making anything new. Devotional and striped down. It’s a cookbook, but I use the word ‘cookbook’ loosely. It’s a collection of poems from my year of loss + the things I barely ate.

There are no pictures of the recipes. There are gorgeous images unearthed from my archives uniquely for this project + many of the images will be new to your eyes. What I have learned since I began my pilgrimage into the underworld is you must eat there, too. Let this book be of solace to you in sad times when you don’t know what to reach for, or when you need a little inspiration on how to do a simple thing.